An apparent heart attack killed Thomas Herrion, a backup offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers, who died after Saturday night’s game against the Broncos in Denver, his agent, Frederick Lyles, said Sunday.
The official coroner’s report won’t be released for up to six weeks, after all lab tests are completed.
But Lyles said team officials told him they believe the 23- year-old Herrion, who was 6-foot-3 and weighed nearly 330 pounds, died of a massive heart attack.
Lyles said he and Herrion had a ritual every game day. They would talk in the morning, then shortly after the game.
Lyles said Herrion was in great spirits when he called Saturday morning from the Denver Hyatt Regency Tech Center. The two never got the chance to finish their routine.
“I dozed off while waiting for him to call,” said Lyles, who was in Atlanta on Saturday night. “I woke up a little later and was worried I hadn’t heard from him.
“Then I checked my phone and saw several calls from the 49ers. I knew right then there was a major problem.”
San Francisco coach Mike Nolan called Lyles a short time later, telling him Herrion had died.
“There was no warning at all,” Lyles said. “This most definitely came out of nowhere. It hit us like a ton of bricks.”
According to Howard Daniel, an investigator with the Denver coroner’s office, Herrion was pronounced dead at St. Anthony’s Central Hospital at 11:18 p.m. Saturday.
Daniel said the results of the autopsy performed Sunday were inconclusive. The final cause of death, Daniel said, will not be known until further lab results are available. He said it will take three to six weeks. Toxicology results will be known in five to 10 days, Daniel said.
Daniel said it was too early to tell if there were any pre- existing medical conditions or whether an injury suffered in the game contributed to Herrion’s death.
Herrion played about 20 plays in the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ 26-21 victory.
There were reports that Herrion suffered a seizure in the locker room at Invesco Field at Mile High.
Nolan said Sunday that Herrion fell ill at the end of the Lord’s Prayer after a short team meeting. Medical staff attended to Herrion immediately in the locker room in front of stunned coaches and teammates.
Paramedics and medical staff tried to revive Herrion three times at Invesco Field, Lyles was told. Media witnesses saw Herrion on a stretcher being frantically attended to as he was being rushed from the locker room to an ambulance and saw medical workers try to revive Herrion as the ambulance left the stadium. Lyles said Herrion temporarily came to but soon lost consciousness.
“The 49ers did all they could do,” Lyles said.
On the field after the game, Herrion told Broncos reserve defensive end Aaron Hunt, a teammate of Herrion’s in the NFL Europe league this spring, that the altitude bothered him. Herrion was on the field for a 14-play drive that end in a 49ers touchdown in the closing seconds.
“He was pleased he was on the field for the touchdown,” Nolan said.
Nolan said Sunday that he was told of Herrion’s death upon leaving the locker room. The coach gathered the players in a hangar at Denver International Airport to tell them. The team immediately knelt and prayed for Herrion.
Lyles said Herrion’s body will remain in Denver for up to two days before being transported to his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. Lyles said it’s not expected that any family will fly to Denver before Herrion’s body is flown to Texas. Funeral arrangements are pending, but the 49ers will have a private team memorial Tuesday.
“Our prayers go out to Thomas Herrion’s family and to the 49ers organization,” said Jim Saccomano, Broncos vice president of public relations. “This is truly a tragedy.”
Herrion is the fourth NFL player since 1971 to die while in uniform.
He is the first since Minnesota right tackle Korey Stringer died of heatstroke Aug. 1, 2001.
Denver linebacker Patrick Chukwurah was the only player on either team Saturday night to be at the site of both deaths. Chukwurah was a rookie with Minnesota when Stringer died.
“I wish I hadn’t been there for either one,” Chukwurah said Sunday. “This brings back bad memories.”
Supplements containing substances banned by the NFL were found in Stringer’s locker.
Like Stringer, Herrion struggled with his weight.
Herrion had dropped 30 pounds since coming into the NFL but recently gained weight, Lyles said.
He does not believe Herrion was taking any diet supplements.
“I’m not worried at all about any supplements in his body,” Lyles said. “He was in good football shape. He was feeling great. That’s what he told me Saturday morning.”
Other player deaths
Others in the NFL who have died during training camp or the season:
Korey Stringer: Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman died of heatstroke during training camp in August 2001.
J.V. Cain: St. Louis Cardinals tight end, who played at the University of Colorado (1971-73), died of a heart attack during training camp in July 1979.
Chuck Hughes: Detroit Lions receiver died of a heart attack during a game against Chicago in October 1971.
Staff writer Adrian Dater contributed to this report.
Staff writer Bill Williamson can be reached at 303-820-5450 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
